Collection on the Cooke and Clarke families

A Guide to the Collection

The documents in this collection relate to prominent early Methodist preacher and scholar Adam Clarke (1762?-1832); his wife Mary Cooke Clarke (1761-1837); their son, J. B. B. Clarke; their daughter, Mary Ann Clarke Smith; and Mary Cooke Clarke’s sister, Eliza Cooke. The collection features correspondence and other documents concerning family and church matters and includes copies of letters sent by Mary Cooke to John Wesley.

Dr. Adam Clarke (circa 1762-1832) was a popular early Wesleyan preacher, scholar, and author. He was born in Ireland, joined the Methodist movement in 1779, and preached his first trial sermon in 1782. Later that year, John Wesley appointed Clarke to serve as an itinerant preacher on the Bradford-on-Avon circuit, which included the town of Trowbridge.

Adam Clarke is remembered for his long and successful career as a minister, denominational leader, linguist, and Bible commentator. His accomplishments include serving three times as President of the British Conference and four times as President of the Irish Conference. Clarke died of cholera in 1832 and was buried in the graveyard at City Road, London, next to John Wesley.

Mary Cooke Clarke (1761-1837) was born in Trowbridge. She and her sisters, Eliza and Frances, became Methodists after a visit by John Wesley to their home. Mary Cooke maintained a close correspondence with Wesley until at least 1789. After her marriage to Adam Clarke in 1788, she also became a leader in the Methodist movement, a woman valued for offering spiritual counsel and pastoral care.

Their son, J. B. B. Clarke (-1855), published An Account of the Infancy, Religious and Literary Life of Adam Clarke, a three-volume biography of his father, in 1833. Daughter Mary Ann Clarke Smith (Mrs. Richard Smith) memorialized her mother’s life in the book Mrs. Adam Clarke: Her Character and Correspondence, in 1851.

Bridwell Library’s collection on the Cooke and Clarke families comprises seventy-one folders of manuscript letters, correspondence transcription letter-books, personal and business writings, printed images, a published tribute to Mary Cooke Clarke, and three reels of microfilm copies of Clarke correspondence. These documents detail the domestic relationships and spiritual concerns of two generations of early Methodists in the United Kingdom with direct ties to John Wesley.

The Collection of Cooke and Clarke family letters was digitized in 2012 by Bridwell Library. Digital images of each item may be accessed at /http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/all/bridwell/ or through the item hyperlinks offered in the box and folder listing that follows.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection consists of six series of family and church-related documents. The first five series are organized by author or receiver. The final series contains a document not clearly associated with a named individual.

Series 1:Mary Cooke Clarke, 1781-1836

The first series contains materials written by or received by Mary Cooke Clarke. To access annotated inventories of the contents of the Mary Cooke’s letter-books, please follow these hyperlinks: Box 1, file 1 and Box 1, File 2.

Box

Folder

01

01

Mary Cooke’s letter-book: “Miss Peacock” written on the cover, 1781-1787

02

Mary Cooke’s letter-book: transcriptions of letters to John Wesley, 1785-1789

Series 3:J. B. B. Clarke, 1833-1880

The third series contains three letters written by J. B. B. (Joseph Butterworth Bulmer) Clarke, son of Adam and Mary Cooke Clarke, and a document concerning his death. The letter in folder 58 is written on a published tribute to Mary Cooke Clarke.

Box

Folder

01

58

J. Forshall letter to J. B. B. Clarke, 1833 August 6

59

J. Forshall letter to J. B. B. Clarke, Frome, 1835 April 14

60

Mary Ann Clarke Smith letter to J. B. Clarke, 1837 February 13, written on a printed document “A Brief Account of the Late Mrs. Dr. Adam Clarke,” 1837 January

61

Note possibly by Mrs. T. Sheppard about the death of "my beloved friend and former Pastor ... Clarke" 1855 February 17; with unsigned note on verso, 1880 June 5

Series 5:Eliza Cooke, 1783-1791

The fifth series includes a letter-book and seven letters written by Eliza Cooke, sister of Mary Cooke Clarke. To access an annotated inventory of the contents of the letter-book, please follow this hyperlink: Box 1, file 23.

Box

Folder

02

04

Eliza Cooke’s letter-book, 1783-1786

05

Eliza Cooke letter to Adam Clarke, with a postscript by Mary Cooke, 1786 May 11